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Corporate Social Responsibility

Brother strongly believes in being a responsible corporate citizen, and this is reflected in our broad range of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and programmes. The sections below provide a detailed look at Brother's CSR initiatives.

Management Message

Brother has a long-standing belief in respecting the environment and caring for anyone related to our company. These principles are captured in the Brother Group Global Charter, which was crafted in 1999 based on the concept of "Tomoiki" (co-existence). Through our CSR Management activities, we hope to establish a mutually beneficial relationship in which our stakeholders trust and respect us and our employees take pride in working for the company.

Brother believes that CSR should be managed just as any other business activity, and thus it should be integrated into our daily operations. To this end, we have formed a committee to increase awareness of CSR within the company and formulate strategies and initiatives to involve everyone in the company in contributing back to society and our environment.

Brother Malaysia is a member of Singapore Compact. We decided to join in order to express our belief in and commitment to good CSR. We hope that this will broaden our network of communication with like-minded companies to increase dialogue and boost the exchange of information and experience, thereby making CSR more meaningful for our stakeholders.

As a start, Brother will be focusing on our customers, employees and the environment. Our thoughts and our actions are geared towards providing our customers with products and services of superior value that they can trust. Our employees are important to us. By providing them with an environment in which they can fulfil their aspirations and have a well-balanced work life, we can be sure that they in turn will take care of our customers and the environment. Brother will continue to look into innovative ways to recycle our products and ensure that our recycling programme continues to expand and improve.

We recognise that CSR is a journey. It is to us a fulfilment of our motto "At Your Side". And we are proud to undertake this journey because we know that we are creating an organisation that our stakeholders can respect and our employees can be proud to be a part of.

Our Associates

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Employees are important stakeholders to Brother. We are building Brother as a company in which our employees take pride. Communication between management and employees is important to the company, as Brother recognises that communication is an important driver of employee engagement.

In promoting constructive dialogue between management and employees, our quarterly communication session is a channel for sharing company information with employees and also for them to raise concerns through open discussion with management.

Brother is committed to providing a workplace in which our employees are respected and in which they take pride.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Brother recognises the importance of having talented leaders at all levels of our organisation. We invest in the development of all our employees. Our leaders attend leadership training in the areas of Performance Management and Appraisal, Building and Leading Teams and Leadership Competencies.

We recognise strong leadership is critical to organisational success and employee engagement. Training helps to develop this critical capability and allows our talent to grow.

EMPLOYEE WELLNESS

At Brother, the health and well-being of our employees are important. We recognise that employee wellness is a fundamental component of creating work-life balance for our employees.

Brother has launched Workplace Wellness Programmes to create a happy and healthy workplace. Employee wellness programmes from health screening, health surveys, and nutritional advice to fitness activities such as badminton and bowling are designed to ensure the physical well-being of our employees. These programmes also raise awareness of important health issues, which we believe benefits employees in their overall wellness.

At Brother, we know that behind our success, it's our people who make the difference.

The Environment - Brother's Contribution

PROTECTORS OF THE EARTH

As an environmentally responsible corporate citizen, Brother's printing solutions are all friends of the earth. Brother is the first and only printer manufacturer to achieve the coveted TCO standard-the toughest environmental standard in the world-since 2002. This is a globally recognised benchmark for excellence in ecology, energy, emissions and ergonomics.

The Brother Group in Japan established the 5R concept, which lays the foundation and sets the guidelines for active participation in global efforts. As a member of the Brother Group, Brother International Singapore is also guided by these environmental policies, and we have adopted the 5R concept as a basis for our own environmental activities:

Our machines' eco-friendliness is determined by the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive. There is restricted use of certain hazardous substances-such as lead, mercury and calcium -in the manufacture of our products. On top of that, our machines are labelled Energy Savers, which means they consume less power, and therefore contribute to our holistic approach to being environmentally friendly. At Brother, we provide the ideal solutions that exceed expectations now and into the future. We aimed to be "At Your Side" every step of the way.

SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION PROGRAM
CHAGAR HUTANG, TERENGGANU, MALAYSIA

On the 25th of September 2010, 30 staff from Brother Malaysia participated in the Brother 2010 Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility Program. The environmental effort supported by Brother Malaysia is a sea turtle conservation program; helping to protect and safeguard the sea turtle population, especially those of the Hawksbill and Green turtle species, from extinction. This effort was also held in conjunction with the 25th Annual International Coastal Cleanup Day (held worldwide on the 25th of September 2010), where volunteers from more than 100 countries participate in the largest beach cleanup event in the world.

This program took place in Chagar Hutang, Terengganu, which is a natural nesting site for sea turtles in Malaysia. Brother Malaysia worked with SEATRU (Sea Turtle Reseach Unit), an arm of the University Malaysia Terengganu in their efforts in turtle conservation. SEATRU has been working on turtle conservation initiatives in Chagar Hutang since 1993, and their main activities include protecting turtle nesting sites from predators, release of hatchlings into the sea, monitoring and tagging turtles that come to nest, and many more.

Brother Malaysia staff not only contributed by organizing a beach clean-up, they also learned about how to conserve turtles by not littering, and how all our efforts can contribute towards turtle preservation. All staff also had the rare opportunity to witness first-hand how turtle hatchlings burrowed out of their nests, all in their natural habitats.

It was overall a great effort, and Brother Malaysia is proud to have done its part in the preservation of this wonderful marine life.

ISO

Brother consumables are manufactured to exacting, environmentally friendly specifications. Brother worldwide is committed to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, and through these controls we ensure that quality and reliability are built into every consumable and machine we manufacture. Furthermore, everything we manufacture is produced to worldwide health and safety standards.

ISO 14001 Accreditation

Only four Japanese and six international manufacturing facilities, including that of Brother's, have been accredited with the strict ISO 14001 conservation standards for the environment.

Energy Star Approval

Our Laser Printers, Multi-Function Centres (MFCs) and Faxes comply with the International Energy Star Program. As a long-time Energy Star partner, all Brother Group companies worldwide have strong social and environmental responsibilities to contribute to a cleaner planet.

Brother's Environmental Protection Measure

Our printers and MFCs have adopted a printing system that reduces consumables wastage. This printing system ensures that users no longer have to throw away a drum or inkjet printheads every time the toner or ink cartridge has been depleted. Toners and ink cartridges may now be replaced separately. Additionally, all our models have a draft print mode to reduce the amount of toner or ink required for standard prints.

TCO99 Accreditation

Brother is the only printer manufacturer with TCO99 certification. TCO99 is an exacting standard governing product safety, ergonomics, handling and physical design, working environment emissions, total environmental management strategy, manufacturing processes, ecology and the operator's manual.

Brother's Green Purchasing Policy

Brother promotes activities that are environmentally friendly. Such practices include purchasing products using a recommended product list, which includes items ranging from toilet paper to company vehicles.

Brother and Recycling for the Environment

Brother (Japan) established a recycling centre in Japan in 1998. This centre is capable of disassembling, separating, classifying, recovering and then recycling waste products. Items that are recycled include waste plastics, substrates and motors.

Brother Green Project - A Recycling Initiative in Malaysia

As part of our ongoing green efforts, the Brother Green Project is a new recycling initiative to provide our customers with an easy and convenient way of disposing used Brother consumables. We take back used Brother consumables (ink cartridges, toner cartridges and drums) from customers.

The main collection point in Malaysia is only at the Brother Customer Service Centre, Unit T1-L5, Level 5, Tower 1, Jaya 33, No 3, Jalan Semangat, Seksyen 13, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

For more information on this recycling program, you can contact our Customer Service Centre at Tel: 03-7884 9999 or email atyourside@brother.com.my

Local Community

Brother Introduces “Brother Cares, Make It Sew” CSR Initiative with a Contribution of More Than RM8,000 Worth Sewing Machines to Rumah Juara & House of Joy

Petaling Jaya, February, 2013 – Brother International Malaysia, a leader in home and business IT peripherals that focuses on the ‘Customer-First’ approach, in the hope of educating community of the fun of sewing, initiated an annual corporate social responsibility effort, themed “Brother Cares, Make It Sew”.

Brother International Malaysia contributed 6 units of Brother home sewing machines to 2 selected charity organizations – Rumah Juara Petaling Jaya and House of Joy Puchong as its new CSR initiative to edified the community the enjoyment of sewing.

Brother International (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd has been actively involving in giving back to the community and initiate corporate social responsibility since 2005, of which through Brother Cares, recipients will be contributed sewing machines then be used at the respective recipient organisations as well as provided with training that beneficial for them.

6 units of Brother sewing machines worth more than RM8,000 were handed over to the representatives of Rumah Juara Petaling Jaya and House of Joy Puchong. The recipients also brought back items such as pillow cases, blankets, bags and soft toys that they have made and then embroidered by Brother’s embroidery machines. Brother also provided stationery – organiser, pencil case and coin pouch to meet the school children needs.